Sunday, February 22, 2015

A very BIG thank you for all of the honesty, suggestions and encouragement on this little quilt project! If it weren't for you taking the time to write the comments... all of this fabric (and time) would have been in the trash...lol! ;-)

I took a little of everyone's advice... and took apart all of those obviously mismatched spools... then sewed them back together with a slightly increased seam allowance. This caused the block to be a bit smaller, but the center of the spools matched much better. I then trimmed them all down to 2-1/2". The original size was supposed to be 2-3/4". So, not much smaller... but enough to where I needed to resize and rearrange the elements that make up the center medallion.

My original intention for the applique was to stitch them as needleturn. But, the smaller pieces became a bit too fiddly for me, so I opted to fuse the applique and find a suitable stitch on my Kenmore to finish the edges. Kind of a primitive (almost hand stitched) looking finish... but, I think it works with this quilt design.

The next step is to trim all those 2-3/4" kona pieces down to match the (2-1/2") spool pieces, and then the final assembly can happen. Photography in a room without sunlight is not easy (thus the washed out color)... but, this project is looking much better than the last time I posted... and even though it's not perfection... it's turning out to be a cute little quilt that matches my quirky personality! ;-)

Saturday, February 7, 2015

When the weather outside is frightful, this lady hibernates in the sewing room... lol! I've been stitching along on these little spools...

Each little step in the process seemed to be going along just fine...

I even managed to figure a way to prevent my Kenmore from chewing up the points on the corners...

Pressing pieces open goes pretty well on one of these metallic, grippy fabric ironing pads...

But, then I started to sew the ends onto the centers... things just went all wonky from there... the center spool not quite lining up properly with the end caps... and, therefore, I am no longer "enjoying the process" of assembling this little quilt...

So... I ask you for some good, honest thoughts...

Is it really possible to get all of these lined up perfectly? And, would you consider that effort well worth your time? Is it really THAT important that they all line up perfectly?

How much of this (inaccurate matching) will actually "quilt out" with a meander pattern and after a wash and fluff?

Maybe it's best I just accept the fact that I am not a "many, small pieces, patchwork kind of gal"... and toss this project and get back to some needleturn applique, cross stitch, wool work or rug hooking?!?!?! lol!